


The Black Hare And The Weeping Prince : A Fairy Tale For Dorian Pavus

by Honigfrosch



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Love Conquers All, M/M, fairy tale, in-universe fiction, let's play "spot the symbols and references", love means "I wrote you a story", mythological world-building, rules of three
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:00:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24716449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honigfrosch/pseuds/Honigfrosch
Summary: "Prince Tamerin, today I have seen many wonderful and horrific things. A giant lion statue that wept luminous blue tears and growled softly at its worshippers, who kept kneeling and chanting in prayer until they were all eaten. Eight mothers bringing their eight newborns that were born with white cats' fur and would tell riddles at nighttime and wishes at daytime. A raven with the markings of an eye and a sword on its breast, singing sweetly of war and redemption ...~*~If you wish there were more m/m fairy tales in the world, this is for you. A piece of in-universe fiction, featuring obvious stand-ins, family spectres, symbolic curses, mythological creatures, and slow-blossoming love.Knowledge of Dragon Age is not required; you'll just miss out on all the references and symbols (but even so, a link to a handy list is provided in the author's notes.)
Relationships: Dorian Pavus/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	The Black Hare And The Weeping Prince : A Fairy Tale For Dorian Pavus

**The Black Hare and The Weeping Prince**  
_(or: Nikas and Tamerin)  
a Fairy Tale for Dorian Pavus, penned by Laran de la Roseraie_

  


In a land that never was and always will be, in a time when rainbows still could be travelled upon and frogs still had their wings, a black hare fled across the kingdom of King Tammern and his sons Tamerin and Tameruth. This hare was not gray, like tree bark, or brown, like desert sand, but black as a crow's feathers. On that day alone, it had already outrun the arrows of five hunters and the jaws of five dogs. But the sixth hunter put an arrow into its left flank, the sixth dog sank its teeth into its right flank, and now it was about to be caught. Desperate for escape, it ran through seven gardens and took seven leaps over seven balconies until it tumbled into a bedchamber and fell down nearly dead.

The chamber was so wide you could not see the one end from the other, and had walls made of gold and a floor made of onyx. This chamber - and the rooms and balconies and gardens around it, and every living or dead thing inside it - belonged to prince Tamerin, and the wounded creature had come to rest at his feet. It would have been barely a shadow on the black stone, were it not for its red blood and its large eyes which seemed to catch the moonlight, even though the moon was nowhere to be seen.

There was a big commotion.  
Some of Tamerin's servants wanted to call the guards to kill the black hare. "What a nasty beast," they cried, "it will scratch you and its pelt is dirty!"  
"I will not allow it," the prince replied. "It is only scared and will not hurt me."

Others wanted to give it to the cooks, to put in a stew. "Look at its size, we will have a good meal of it for days, and a nice pair of gloves befitting royalty!"  
"I will not allow it," said the prince. "It is wounded and needs rest, and I'd rather stroke its fur while it is alive."

The rest of his servants wanted the prince to keep it as a pet. "We have never seen a hare as black as the night sky, it would look beautiful on a golden leash!"  
"I will not allow it," answered the prince. "It is a creature of the wild, used to running free, and would not survive being bound."

So they obeyed, and Tamerin saw to it that the hare had its wounds cleaned and bandaged, and was fed, and that it had a quiet corner in his chamber to rest in. 

That night, when he sat on the border to the Land of Dreams but had not crossed it yet, Tamerin heard a voice call out his name. The prince was surprised to see that it was the hare that addressed him so, but he was not afraid.  
"You are a wondrous creature indeed," he said. "But I am no stranger to magic and have seen far more wondrous things."  
"I only wanted to thank you," said the hare, "for saving my life. You have a good heart. I wish I could repay you, but I have no riches, and no home to invite you in kind."  
"Then your company will be my payment," decided Tamerin, "until you are healed."

The next day, the young prince put on a golden mask shaped like the Sun, and shining almost as brightly. Only then did he venture outside his private chambers.  
He spent every single day in a similar way. When there was time he would practice horse-riding and staff-fighting, magical spells and counterspells, play the lute and dance when it suited him. He would write letters and walk the gardens and play chess with the advisors. He would do studies in his library, his chamber of artifacts, and his bestiarium. But most of all, he would hold court, as every day countless visitors wanted to gain his favour. They asked him for help in all things magical, or gifted him with one-of-a-kind creatures and artworks and enchantments. All these people secretly wished he would reward their efforts with a smile. 

The hare followed Tamerin like a shadow wherever he went, although it was still weak and often Tamerin carried it, cradled within his silken sleeves. They kept its nature a secret, because even in a place as resplendent and endlessly prosperous as a royal palace, envy and jealousy will grow like poisonous vines and look for a victim to strangle. The animal was careful not to speak to anyone but the prince, and people thought it merely a rare pet and wondered how it stayed so close to him without a leash, and why he cared about a creature so unbefitting a person of his standing.

At nightfall, they returned to the prince's private chambers. Tamerin set down his mask and went to bed, and the hare rested on soft pillows in its corner. It seemed lost in thoughts. When Tamerin sat perched atop the border to the Land of Dreams, it spoke again.

"Prince Tamerin, today I have seen many wonderful and horrific things. A giant lion statue that wept luminous blue tears and growled softly at its worshippers, who kept kneeling and chanting in prayer until they were all eaten. Eight mothers bringing their eight newborns that were born with white cats' fur and would tell riddles at nighttime and wishes at daytime. A raven with the markings of an eye and a sword on its breast, singing sweetly of war and redemption. A beautiful painting of yourself dancing under ten silken canopies, so lifelike and moving that even the dead would want to waltz with it. You have a life filled with marvels and riches, terror and joy, yet I never see you laugh or cry. It is only the bells on your mask that ring sweetly like laughter, and only its adornments that shimmer like tears. Why is it that you never smile or cry?“

Tamerin sighed. "It was not always so. It is by magic that my heart does not permit it. Tameruth, my twin brother, desired to be the only heir to our father's throne and schemed to murder me. He was as talented in the arcane arts as I, and just as powerful. He aimed a cursed dagger at my heart, but with magic I raised an iron ring around it, and the blade could not pierce it. I lived, yet the ring around my heart would not be dispelled. It has been a burden to me ever since, keeping laughter and tears away from me.“

"I am glad you survived,“ said the hare, "but I wish you had not paid for it so dearly.“ It flicked its ears and blinked its moonlit eyes. „I worry that your brother is still a threat to you. If he is as powerful as you are, he might try to harm you again.“

"Worry not, my hare. We were equal in the strength of our power, but not in its nature. Tameruth put all of his volition into spells of destruction, whereas I aim to master many kinds of magic, and find knowledge of all its elements alluring. It is like a hunger in me. I believe he did not have the same ambition, and this is how I came to weaken and defeat him. He is but a spectre now, a shadow that still lives at my father's side, and I am beyond his reach. But I worry about the fate of our kingdom. A shadow cannot sit on a throne and neither can a son in exile. One day I may have to face him.“

"Perhaps,“ mused the hare. "Until then there is comfort to be had in knowing that you are safe.“ Once more, it flicked its ears and closed its moonlit eyes, and they did not speak of it again.

Every morning, before his servants came to wake him, Tamerin would sit next to his companion and tell it the most splendid and stirring tales, and speak of his dreams and his sorrows. He fed it the freshest herbs and sweetest roots, and tenderly brushed the burrs from its pelt with his finest comb. The heavy weight of his guarded heart did not lift, but he felt more certain that he could bear it, knowing that he was needed.

But he could not help wondering, as the days and nights flew by, when they were to part ways again.

"Hare, your wound has closed and healed as if it had never been there. Surely you will leave me tomorrow?“  
"It still pains me to run,“ replied the hare. „I will stay with you a while longer.“

"Hare, I saw you run about today. Surely you will leave me tomorrow?“  
"I still cannot leap and be swift as the wind. I will stay with you a while longer.“

"Hare, today you lept into my garden, and ran as swiftly as the wind. Surely you will leave me tomorow?“  
The hare looked at him with its moonlit eyes and flicked its ears, but it did not reply. Tamerin did not dare ask again, and wished he could tell the Sun not to trade places with her brother Moon this time.

That night, sleep would not come to Tamerin, and so he was awake when he heard a soft rustle coming from the hare's resting place. Where it had lain now stood a man with skin pale as milk, and hair and clothes black as the hare's fur. He walked towards Tamerin and sat on his bedside, and his eyes caught the moonlight.

"So you have a curse of your own,“ said the prince.

"Yes,“ said the man whom Tamerin had fed and healed and confided in, without knowing it. "Nikas is my name. During the day, I am caught in my animal shape. Only at night can I shed it.“

"But you did not show yourself to me until now. What a shame; it is a handsome form.“

"And you are radiant even without your Sun mask,“ replied Nikas, and lowered his gaze.  
  
Before the prince could say more, Nikas lifted up one of his hands.  
  
"You were kind to me, and so I wish to do you a kindness in return. I want to see you happy. There must be some cure, some means to undo the spell that wraps itself around your heart. Perhaps together we can find it."

"I have read every tome, every scroll and every parchment in my library, all in vain. Give me the day to think about it,“ said the prince, „and we will meet again tomorrow night and perhaps I will have a counsel by then.“

So they agreed, and Nikas turned back into a hare and slept in his lair as he had always done, and Tamerin could finally rest.

At sunrise, the prince took to the library. He conjured flames to light every corner, shine into every nook and cranny and dispel every shadow, so that nothing remained concealed to him. All day he searched, and at last he found a dusty scroll that had hitherto been hidden from view, and he sensed that it could be helpful and he dared to hope.

Nikas appeared at his bed as in the night before. "Have you found something, my prince?“

"There is a clearing in the oldest and strangest part of the forest,“ said Tamerin, "where a pair of white peafowls with eyes like rubies build a nest every hundred years, and every egg needs a hundred years to hatch. When the peahen leaves to search for food, the peacock will stay and guard the nest, and watch it with the many eyes on its tail fan. Eating one of these eggs may lift the spell. But no man can ever come close enough to steal it, as the peacock's eyes will spot him in every hiding place.“

"That does not sound like much of a trial,“ said Nikas. "I will steal the egg for you. Tomorrow at dusk you shall have it.“ And his confidence soothed Tamerin's weary mind.

"Nikas, won't you share the bed with me?" asked the prince, for Nikas seemed beautiful to him, and it did not bother Tamerin that he was cursed, nor that he was common and his clothes plain and black as soot.  
"I cannot," said Nikas, "I have been a hare for so long, and Hare knows not how to be a lover. But I will sleep on the rug near your bed.“ And he turned back into a hare and slept next to Tamerin.

In the morning, Nikas ran swiftly into the forest. When the sun was at its highest point, he reached the oldest and strangest of the trees, with the peafowls' clearing in their midst.  
The peacock drew its sugar-white train behind as the peahen sat peacefully on its nest, and they were a splendid sight.  
Nikas wondered how he could get close, and saw that there was a patch of black forest soil, shadowed by a mulberry tree with many black berries. There he hid and pressed himself flat against the earth until he could not be seen.  
Soon the hen was hungry and left the nest. The peacock stayed behind, and opened its train like a giant fan to let its many eyes wander. Each eye blinked when it tired, and Nikas waited patiently until all eyes were closed at the same time. Like a gust of wind he leapt and grabbed one egg, and like the wind he was gone before the peacock could pursue him.

Nikas returned to the prince's chamber at dusk, and gave him the egg.  
Tamerin took it, and had his cooks make a sweet dessert from it. He ate it, and found it to his liking. But the iron ring around his heart stayed as tight as it had ever been.

The second day, Tamerin called down storms from the heavens, and compelled Thunder and Lightning to share their wisdom, as there was no place in Tamerin's kingdom they had not travelled. And Lightning showed Thunder what she had seen, and Thunder rumbled her answer so Tamerin could hear, and he sensed that it could be helpful and he dared to hope.

Nikas appeared at his bed as in the night before. "Have you found something, my prince?“

"There is a hut high up on the mountains where a minor spider goddess lives. She is nimble on her four feet and deft with her four hands, and her eight eyes see everything. In her sleep chamber is a hand mirror, and looking into it may lift the spell. But no man can ever come close enough to steal it, as the spider goddess weaves her nets all day. A thief's limbs will stick to them, or he will stumble over a thread and alert her.“

"That does not sound like much of a trial,“ said Nikas. "I will steal the mirror for you. Tomorrow at dusk you shall have it.“ And his confidence strengthened Tamerin's hope.

"Nikas, won't you share the bed with me?" asked the prince, for when Nikas looked at him he felt the softest tightening and trembling in his chest, a feeling that was both terrifying and desirable to him.  
"I cannot," said Nikas, "so many hands have touched me with capture in mind, and Hare knows not how to trust. But I will sleep at the foot of your bed and warm you." And he turned back into a hare and lay on Tamerin's feet so they would not feel the cold.

In the morning, Nikas ran atop the mountains to find the hut of the spider goddess. He looked inside, and saw her weaving new threads with her four hands and untangling old threads with her four feet, and seeing everything with her eight eyes.  
Nikas wondered how he could steal the mirror, and saw that there was a chimney but no smoke came out of it. He climbed down the chimney and found himself in her bedchamber where the mirror sat upon a pillow, covered in webs.  
The fireplace was black with soot, so he lay down in it and could not be seen, and waited patiently.  
When the spider goddess grew tired, she undid the webs that covered her bed so she could sleep in it. Quick as a lightning flash, Nikas grabbed the mirror, and like lightning he was gone before she could pursue him.

Nikas returned to the prince's chamber at dusk, and gave him the mirror.  
Tamerin looked at his reflection. His flint-gray eyes stared back at him with anticipation, and a glimmer of hope made his brown skin flush ever so slightly. But the iron ring around his heart stayed as tight as it had ever been.

The third day, Tamerin raised the dead and made them speak to him. Many were caught in their own sorrows and misgivings, talked only about things they craved and the loved ones they missed. Tamerin spent all day listening to them, but it gained him nothing. Finally, there was only one of the dead left to ask for advice: a woman with a crooked neck and arms that glistened red from elbow to fingertip. She had been a haruspice under his father's command, but she bore no ill will towards Tamerin and bowed to his demands.  
Tamerin listened closely and knew it could be helpful, but his face turned pale, and he felt no hope.

Nikas appeared at his bed as in the night before. His heart sank as he saw Tamerin so distraught.  
"What is the matter, my prince? Is there nothing more I can do for you?“

Tamerin shook his head. "There is, but I will not tell you. Leave it be.“

"Tell me,“ said Nikas. "I am your hare and you are my prince, and I will not leave it be.“ And Tamerin was stubborn and furious, but Nikas was determined and even-tempered to match, and could not be deterred.

"There is an ancient book at the center of my brother's library, in the catacombs deep underneath my father's domain. It is not chained or locked away, as he likes to study it often. In this book there are countless rituals older than the river gods and mighty enough to pull a star from its place in the sky. This book may tell me how to lift the spell, but no man could ever come close enough to steal it, as Tameruth's guardians are everywhere and his cold eyes see everything.“

Nikas smiled. "That does sound like something of a trial,“ he said. "I will steal the book for you. Tomorrow at dusk you shall have it.“

"Nikas, I cannot ask this of you. My brother's wrath knows no bounds and his sorcery is powerful. He will surely kill you," cried Tamerin, and begged him not to go until his throat felt rough as sand. "It is not worth risking your life for something as useless as my smile."

"Your smile is worth everything to me," said Nikas.

The prince wished more than ever that he could weep, because his chest hurt so much he could barely stand it. But no tears came, and he grabbed Nikas' hands and held him close and kissed him many times, and neither of them would let go until morning.

As soon as the sun rose Nikas ran tirelessly until he reached Tammern's palace, and sneaked into the dark hallways below. He leapt from shadow to shadow, silent as an owl's wings. Whenever one of Tameruth's many guardians was close by Nikas would lie flat and shut his eyes to hide their moonlight, and they would mistake him for just another shadow. Thus he reached the library, and at its center there was the book, and in front of it stood Tameruth.

He was clad in a uniform of the deepest, richest midnight blue instead of a white and gold robe, but otherwise he was a mirror image of beautiful Tamerin. The regal posture, the aquiline nose, even the birth mark on the right cheek; all this they had in common. But Tameruth's eyes were cold like the desert at night, and had a feverish gleam to them. They shone with hatred, and a suffering deep underneath; as if Tameruth found his own skull to be a prison and had become mad over it.

Nikas understood then how Tamerin could have misjudged his brother's ambition. It was true that Tameruth had been diminished to a spectre, but this had only made him more fearsome. From then on he had no tethers left to salvation, and no-one but the dead and his own whispers to keep him company. His soul had tarnished while his mind had sharpened, and there was no hiding from those cruel eyes of his.

Nikas summoned all his courage and leapt swiftly as an arrow to grab the book, and like an arrow he shot out of the catacombs and all the way back to Tamerin's palace, arriving there just as night was falling.

Tamerin's hands were trembling slightly as he took the book, but he kept his voice nonchalant. "What you did was tremendous, and tremendously foolish. I would rather find you dull and hate you.“

Nikas, still a hare, blinked his moonlit eyes apologetically. "Your brother has seen me, and I fear he will send his guardians after me."

"He will,“ said Tamerin. "Can you make yourself large enough to carry me?“

"I can,“ said Nikas.

"Then it is decided,“ said Tamerin. And he left his mask where it lay, and took the book and his staff and his finest travelling robe. Nikas made himself large enough to carry him, and together they took flight. 

Five days and five nights they fled.

Tameruth sent clouds of locusts after them to pick their skin clean off their bones, but Tamerin called forth a storm that blew them away.

He sent giant dogs with flaming eyes as big as wagon wheels, but Nikas darted left and right until they were confused, and easily outran them.

He sent elephants made of brambles and vines, to trample and pierce them, but Tamerin burned them all.

He sent a hundred poisonous snakes, but Tamerin raised the dead to grab them and pull them below the earth.

He sent dark horse spirits tall as houses to gallop and tear the ground under Nikas' feet asunder, but the hare jumped over every chasm and never stumbled.

Neither could gain the upper hand. But the fight was draining, and Tameruth did not let them rest.

When Nikas tried to hide, he would send the scorched spirits of the immolated after him, and they would rain down ash that made his black fur stand out.

When Tamerin tried to build a fire to warm them, he would send the spirits of the drowned to drench them in cold water.

When they tried to find peace in a quiet grove, he would send flocks of desiccated birds to screech and shriek.

Tameruth was only a shadow of a man, and not beholden to the needs of living things. Thus he wore them down until Nikas' feet hurt with every step, and Tamerin could barely hold on after so many sleepless nights.

On the sixth day, Tameruth sent a mighty dragon. It was a hundred times swifter than a hare, and its fire a hundred times hotter than a sorcerer's flames. They could see it on the horizon, and it looked taller than a house.

"Nikas, my hare, please let me go. I will distract the dragon, and you can get away.“  
"Tamerin, my prince, please hold on. We will find another way.“

After a while, Tamerin looked back, and the dragon had grown taller than the highest spire in his palace.  
"Nikas, my hare, please let me go. I will fight the dragon, and you can get away.“  
"Tamerin, my prince, please don't lose hope. We will find another way.“

They ran for a while longer, and when Tamerin looked back, the dragon blotted out the sun and was almost upon them.  
"Nikas, my hare, I command you to let me go. I will let the dragon eat me, so you can get away.“  
"Tamerin, my prince, I am a creature of the wild, used to running free, and I will not obey you.“ 

Finally the dragon had gained ground on them. It roared so loudly they thought their ears would split, and caused a storm with every beat of its wings. They were thrown into the air like straw dolls, and Tamerin could not hold onto the book of spells.  
They fell back to the ground, Tamerin to the left of the dragon, Nikas to its right, and the monster took a deep breath to burn Tamerin alive.  
The prince jumped aside in haste, and in his stead the book went up in flames and was gone in the blink of an eye, and not even its ashes remained.

Nikas tried to rise, but the dragon pinned him to the ground as easily as you would pin a mouse. It drove one sharp claw deep into his side and crushed him.

Tamerin screamed like his own heart had been shattered.  
With the last of his power, he called once more for Thunder and Lightning to come to his aid, and the thunderstorm was so mighty that trees were uprooted and rivers were forced out of their beds. Lightning stabbed the dragon's head like a thousand spears, Thunder roared so loud the beast was thrown to the ground, and hail as big as millstones rained down on it and tore its wings to shreds.

Finally the dragon fled.

Tamerin bent over Nikas, cradled him in his arms and buried his hands in his bloody fur. 

"Nikas, my hare, my love,“ he cried, "do not leave me.“

A great pain rose in his chest, the like of which he had never known before. It pierced deeper than a dagger, took his breath away and made his eyes sting.  
All the tears he had wanted to cry, but never could, now welled up inside him. They rose like a tide and wrung his insides like a giant's fist, and hurt so much he thought he must surely die.  
And in that moment, the ring around his heart cracked and broke into pieces and was swept away in the flood of tears.  
He cried and cried. He wept until he could breathe no more, until his voice gave and the tears had blinded him, he wept and thought he would never cease from weeping.  
And where his tears fell, fur turned into flesh and flesh became whole again, until Nikas with skin pale as milk and hair black as coal lay in his arms, alive and breathing, and his tears turned into tears of joy.  
Nikas smiled at Tamerin, and stroked his hair and wiped his tears away, and then he kissed him, and Tamerin laughed, sweetly as the bells on the mask he had left behind. 

"My prince,“ said Nikas, "how fortunate it is that we found another way. And again you have saved me from certain death. How will I ever repay you?“

Tamerin smiled. "Your company will be my payment.“

Then a thought came to him, and a shadow fell over his eyes.

"Nikas, you are not a wild hare any longer, but what if you still carry its wildness in your heart? Can it ever be bound, or do you want to be free forever? Be truthful,“ he pleaded, "I wish to know your heart even if it may not want me.“

"My heart," replied Nikas, "is already bound to yours. It was drawn to you even when it was still the heart of a hare, because you were not only beautiful and wise, but kind as well. You have tamed my wildness little by little and I am much stronger for it. Now I will always stay by your side, and learn how to be a lover.“

And so it was. Ask the Sun and her brother Moon if you do not believe me, for they have seen it and know it to be true.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Writing this story was really special to me, as I'm a man who loves and desires other men and creating a fairy tale with two men in love who get their happy ending felt almost like a revolutionary act of self-care.  
> 2\. You can find author commentary and a detailed list of all the references and easter eggs [at my journal](https://honigfrosch.dreamwidth.org/35385.html). The story [is available on Dreamwidth as well](https://honigfrosch.dreamwidth.org/33681.html), so you can leave comments there if you prefer.  
> 


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